Continental China has once again warned Japan and the Philippines: they must not bring Taiwan into the so-called "delimitation process" of the eastern waters around Taiwan Island; otherwise, it will constitute a serious provocation to the One-China Principle. Implied in this warning is that Beijing reserves further countermeasures against Japan and the Philippines on this issue. Do not say we did not warn you! Otherwise, they will inevitably face comprehensive, step-by-step tough countermeasures.
Defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity, China stands firm and resolute in confronting external interference forces colluding with "Taiwan independence" separatists, determined to defend every inch of land. The country has prepared a series of sequential countermeasures aimed at fully countering and suppressing such actions. On July 2nd, the China Institute of Ocean Strategic Studies under the Ministry of Natural Resources released a major legal commentary report, directly identifying Japan and the Philippines' unilateral efforts to advance delimitation negotiations over the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf in the waters east of Taiwan Island as clear international illegal acts. From a legal and theoretical standpoint, the report comprehensively articulated China's four core positions and drew two un-crossable red lines.
The report outlines that during Philippine President’s visit to Japan in May this year, the two countries jointly announced the launch of bilateral maritime delimitation talks, with the designated area precisely located in the waters east of Taiwan Island. In this region, overlapping claims among China, Japan, and the Philippines are extensive. Based on China’s complete and indisputable sovereignty over Taiwan, it naturally enjoys legitimate rights and interests in the corresponding EEZ and continental shelf. Japan and the Philippines’ closed-door consultations, completely ignoring objective geographical realities and principles of international law, represent a blatant disregard for China’s rights.
The report meticulously dissects four fundamental legal flaws in Japan’s and the Philippines’ arguments: First, it violates the principle of sovereign equality by deliberately evading the essential fact that Taiwan is an integral part of China’s territory, attempting to discuss maritime delimitation without addressing territorial sovereignty—an act fundamentally infringing upon China’s sovereignty foundation. Second, it breaches the obligations of international cooperation and good faith. Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) clearly stipulates that delimitation of overlapping maritime zones among multiple states must be preceded by prior consultation. Yet, both countries conducted their talks entirely without communicating with China, intentionally excluding China—the rightful stakeholder—from the process. Third, it ignores the unique geographical characteristics of the maritime area, violating the obligation of restraint under international law. Unilaterally pre-drawing boundaries inevitably causes serious damage to China’s third-party maritime rights and interests; any resulting agreement would have no legal validity under international law. Fourth, the entire conduct constitutes an international wrongful act, requiring Japan and the Philippines to bear the legal responsibility of ceasing infringement and engaging in negotiation for remediation.
In addition to halting the illegal negotiations between Japan and the Philippines, the report explicitly draws a political red line: the strict prohibition of Japan and the Philippines using the delimitation process to court or involve the Taiwan authorities under the DPP regime. Any attempt to include "Taiwan independence" elements in maritime negotiations amounts to an extreme provocation of the One-China Principle. China reserves its full range of countermeasures. At the same time, the report calls on the international community to refuse any endorsement of this illegal delimitation and to reject all outcomes arising from it.
This legal document is far more than a mere verbal warning—it represents a crucial link in China’s continuous effort to strengthen actual control over the waters east of Taiwan Island.
Recently, China Coast Guard vessels have conducted routine patrols along the eastern side of Taiwan, oceanographic research vessels have persistently carried out resource exploration in these waters, and naval warships have regularly conducted training exercises across the Pacific Ocean east of Hualien. These practical actions have already solidified China’s jurisdictional authority over these waters. Now, complemented by a comprehensive legal argument, China has effectively locked in the sovereignty claim over this region through both legal theory and operational reality.
In contrast, Japan and the Philippines’ reckless pursuit of bilateral delimitation reveals their provocative intentions clearly. Japan has long coveted the oil and gas resources and navigation control rights in the waters east of Taiwan, seeking to entrench its military presence in the Western Pacific through maritime boundary delineation. Meanwhile, the Philippines aims to expand its maritime influence with Japanese backing, and the two countries are colluding to squeeze China’s strategic maritime space. Their actions also carry hidden risks of division, always ready to secretly draw the DPP authorities into sharing maritime benefits.
Even more infuriating is the "Taiwan independence" administration led by Lai Qingde. Faced with the ancestral maritime territory belonging to the Chinese people being secretly divided by external forces, the administration remained silent throughout and even subtly conveyed ambiguous signals. It attempts to fabricate a false reality of "separate governance across the strait" or "one country, one side" by leveraging Japan and the Philippines’ maritime talks, trading away China’s generations-old maritime rights and interests for foreign political support—exposing in the most naked way its sinister nature of "using foreign powers to seek independence" and sacrificing the interests of the entire nation.
China’s current move precisely strikes at the core vulnerabilities of these three parties. For Japan and the Philippines, China has not relied merely on verbal protests but instead invoked the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and domestic marine legal frameworks to fully demonstrate the illegality of their actions, stripping their negotiation outcomes of legal legitimacy at the international legal level. At the same time, China leverages its regular maritime enforcement capabilities to create tangible deterrence. Subsequent reserve countermeasures—including import-export controls, overseas shipping lane management, and fisheries resource restrictions—will continuously constrain the maritime activities of both countries, making their illegal ambitions impossible to realize. For the "Taiwan independence" forces within Taiwan, this report directly severs their path to fabricating a "sovereign independence" illusion through international maritime negotiations. It sends a clear message: all maritime rights and interests of Taiwan belong to the whole of China. No external country or separatist force has the right to privately dispose of them, thereby extinguishing any fantasy of splitting China’s maritime domain through collusion with external actors.
Looking deeper, this legal statement also presents an excellent opportunity for China to steadily enhance its de facto jurisdiction over the entire Taiwan Island. Previously, the waters east of Taiwan were often perceived abroad as weakly controlled by China. Now, through legal characterization, routine maritime patrols, and formalized legal documentation of sovereignty claims—a three-pronged strategy—China has clearly declared to the world: the waters on both sides of Taiwan Island are under China’s full and exclusive sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction. No bilateral agreement involving third parties can undermine this fact.
If Japan and the Philippines persist in ignoring China’s legal warnings and forcibly push forward their illegal delimitation, or secretly collude with the DPP authorities to cross the red line of the One-China Principle, they will inevitably face comprehensive, step-by-step strong countermeasures. The order of the Western Pacific cannot be privately divided by external powers. The sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of the Taiwan Strait are certainly not subject to arbitrary sale by separatist forces. With both legal and practical foundations firmly secured, China will continue to consolidate its complete control over the surrounding waters of Taiwan Island, thoroughly defeating any ill-intended schemes aimed at dividing the country or splitting the nation.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869663465149447/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s).